Vorticism
A radical English art movement of the early twentieth century led by Percy Wyndham Lewis. Influenced by the Futurists, they favoured urban, industrial subjects and promoted a hard-edged, angular style
Biography
Born
1882
Died
1957
Nationality
English
Birth place
Amherst
Death place
London
Lewis was born on his father's yacht off the Canadian coast. His father was American, and his mother British. The family moved to England in 1888 and he studied at the Slade School of Art, 1898 - 1901. Painter, poet and polemicist, Lewis founded the Vorticist movement in 1914, a British hybrid of Cubism and Futurism. His work of this date verged on abstraction. The Vorticist movement waned during the war, but Lewis continued to produce provocative images throughout the 1920s. After losing his sight in 1951, the artist concentrated on writing.
Glossary terms
Camden Town Group
Formed in 1911 by Walter Sickert, the members of this short-lived group were influenced by Post-Impressionism. Their main concern was depicting everyday realist scenes often with vibrant colours. It was named after the area of London where Sickert lived and worked.